I think he best way to learn about another culture is to completely immerse oneself in it. One way of doing this is through a cultures food. Luckily in Japan we got the opportunity to try many different foods. I felt like by experiencing the food of Japan and the customs surrounding food, I better experienced the ancient Japanese culture.

ABOUT:

Elizabeth Armstrong (East Asian Studies) and Mizuki Takahashi (Biology) led 9 Bucknell students on a an 8-day study trip to Japan during winter break (January 3 to 12). The theme of the trip was "Sustainability: Japan's nuclear power, environment, culture and language". They traveled to Fukushima, Tokyo and Kyoto, examined the long-term sustainability of each of these areas, from all four perspectives, received lectures from experts in various fields related to sustainability, and learned a great deal about how to manage themselves in a very different culture. The trip was made possible by a generous grant from the Japan Foundation under the Japan-America Collegiate Exchange Travel Program.